ATLANTA — The well-known Hero mural here in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, dedicated to Congressman John Lewis, is now a memorial as people stop by to pay their respects.
Crowds of people flocking to Auburn Avenue on Saturday further illuminated the mark the civil rights icon made on so many – even those he never met.
"Never actually met John Lewis but I did attend a program where he spoke and left a great impact on my life with his memories and a lot of the things he had to endure," Derrick Manning said.
And then, there were those who knew him well.
"He bent the arc of history and that's so rare that someone could give his life for a struggle," former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell said.
Campbell remembered the civil rights giant and spoke on the character of his friend.
"If you saw John Lewis in the streets, he was the warmest, most humble human being you would ever meet," Campbell said.
Lewis served as the U.S. representative for Georgia's 5th Congressional District for more than three decades and was widely seen as a moral conscience of Congress.
"I've just always admired him and thought he was a great lion of the congress," Rebecca Erwin said.
For Tony and Beverly Greer, Lewis makes them proud to be Atlanta natives.
"We grew up in Atlanta, born and raised,” Tony said. “John Lewis meant a lot to the community and he meant a lot to me, growing up and knowing what he sacrificed."
Lewis is remembered as a powerful man leaving behind a powerful legacy.
"I believe that when history is written, it will record John Lewis with Mandela, King, and Gandhi as one of the great transformative figures of the 20th century,” Campbell said.
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